Australian Communications and Media Authority (Emergency Call Service Determination) Direction 2024

The instrument relies on a small set of defined terms and core concepts. It cross‑refers to definitions in other instruments and laws and adds limited local definitions (section 4). The principal concepts that structure obligations are:

• Provider: defined as “a carrier or carriage service provider” (section 4). The Direction therefore targets entities regulated under the Telecommunications Act 1997 definitions and the ACMA Act; it does not redefine the universe of regulated entities but uses existing statutory terms.

• Determination: means the Telecommunications (Emergency Call Service) Determination 2019 (section 4). The Direction amends that Determination rather than creating standalone regulatory obligations. In consequence, the operational details will be incorporated into and enforced under the Determination once ACMA makes the amendments.

• Emergency call, emergency call person for 000 and 112, emergency service organisation: these expressions are captured by reference to the Determination (section 4). The Direction requires routing and delivery to the “emergency call person for 000 and 112” and sharing information with relevant emergency service organisations (section 6(1)(1)-(2)). These references anchor the obligations to the emergency call architecture that the Determination addresses.

• Controlled facility and carriage service: both are cross‑referenced to the Telecommunications Act 1997 (section 4). Obligations in section 6(1)(1)(a) are directed at actions concerning controlled facilities when they lose connectivity to a core network, signalling a focus on network elements that providers operate or control.

• Emergency call camp on functionality: the Direction repeatedly uses the phrase “emergency call camp on functionality” (section 6(1)(1)(b) and (c)). The Direction requires providers not to impede that functionality during outages, to test delivery including when using it, and to configure networks so emergency calls can be carried regardless of the initiating mobile phone (section 6(1)(1)(b)-(d)). The Direction does not define the phrase locally; ACMA is empowered to define terms in the amended Determination (section 6(6)).

• Financial hardship customer and payment assistance policy: both are defined by reference to the Telecommunications (Financial Hardship) Industry Standard 2024 (section 4). The Direction requires carriage service providers to ensure their payment assistance policies include avenues for financial hardship customers to obtain low‑cost or no‑cost alternative mobile phones that can access emergency calls (sections 6(2)(2)(iv) and 6(2)(4)(iv)), linking emergency‑call accessibility obligations to consumer assistance mechanisms under a separate industry standard.

• Reporting and information sharing: the Direction distinguishes between real time network information sharing with emergency services and other appropriate entities (section 6(1)(2)), and post‑outage reporting within a specified timeframe to ACMA and the Department (section 6(1)(3)). The post‑outage reporting requirements specify the content of reports: cause, remedial steps, impact including estimated number of affected end‑users, and a remedial plan with timeline (section 6(1)(3)(a)-(d)).

• Management plans and disruption protocols: providers must have a comprehensive disruption protocol for during and after major outages (section 6(1)(4)), and must submit management plans in advance of proposed operational or network changes that will impact emergency call delivery (section 6(1)(5)). The Direction leaves the “specified timeframe” for submission to ACMA to determine (section 6(1)(5)).

• Specified periods and timeframes: the Direction repeatedly uses the phrase “specified period” or “specified timeframe” (for notification, cessation of supply, the timeframe for post‑outage reporting, and for pre‑change management plan submission). Those temporal thresholds are not set in the Direction itself; ACMA must determine them in the amended Determination (section 6(6)).

Taken together, the main concepts create a framework that requires both technical network duties (routing, testing, configuration, maintenance of controlled facilities) and customer‑facing consumer protection duties (device capability checks, notification, refusal or cessation of supply, and financial assistance pathways), with reporting and information sharing obligations layered across both. The instrument places the architecture and operational detail of many concepts into ACMA’s remit to define within the amended Determination (section 6(6)).

The Direction’s primary legal addressee is the ACMA: the Minister instructs ACMA to amend the Determination (section 5(1)). The text then imposes obligations to be included in the Determination on “providers”, which it defines as “a carrier or carriage service provider” (section 4). Thus the immediate operational burden will fall on carriers and carriage service providers that supply mobile services and operate controlled facilities and core networks.

Affected parties include:

• Carriers and carriage service providers that operate mobile networks and provide carriage services to the public. These entities will be required to implement technical changes (for routing, testing, and configuration), operational protocols (disruption protocols, management plans, monitoring), reporting processes (post‑outage reports to ACMA and the Department), and customer service processes (device capability identification, notification, cease supply, alternatives and payment assistance) as specified in section 6.

• End‑users of mobile services. The Direction requires carriage service providers to identify whether an end‑user’s mobile phone can access emergency call services on the provider’s network and on other public networks (section 6(2)(1)). Where a phone cannot access emergency calls, the provider must notify the end‑user and not supply carriage services to that mobile phone (section 6(2)(2)(i)-(ii)). Providers must also supply information about alternative mobile phones and ensure payment assistance avenues for financial hardship customers to obtain such phones (section 6(2)(2)(iii)-(iv)). Therefore some end‑users could be refused service for specific handsets if those handsets cannot access emergency calls.

• Financial hardship customers. The Direction explicitly imports the definition of “financial hardship customer” and “payment assistance policy” from the Telecommunications (Financial Hardship) Industry Standard 2024 (section 4) and inserts obligations requiring suppliers’ payment assistance policies to include avenues for those customers to obtain low‑cost or no‑cost phones that access emergency services (sections 6(2)(2)(iv) and 6(2)(4)(iv)). The industry standard will therefore intersect with the amended Determination.

• Emergency service organisations and the “emergency call person for 000 and 112”. The Direction requires providers to share real time outage information with relevant emergency services organisations and the emergency call person, and requires providers to test that emergency calls can be delivered to the emergency call person (section 6(1)(1)(c), (1)(2)). These entities will be recipients of information and will rely on providers’ cooperation during outages.

• The Department referenced in section 6(1)(3). Providers must report post‑outage information to both ACMA and the Department (section 6(1)(3)). The Direction does not name which department, but the text refers to reporting to “the Department”, implying an executive agency that will receive post‑outage reports. Because the Direction does not specify enforcement or use of those reports, the Department’s role is limited by the text to receipt of reports and any downstream actions will need to be specified elsewhere.

• Foreign travellers. The Direction creates an exception where a mobile phone is used by a foreign traveller in Australia who intends to remain for less than a specified period and the traveller has been notified that the phone cannot access emergency calls (section 6(2)(5)). This means the obligation to refuse supply for deficient phones does not apply in certain short‑stay cases, provided notification has occurred.

Notably, the Direction places significant future discretion with ACMA: many operative details are to be specified by ACMA in the amended Determination, including the definition of terms and the precise “specified periods” for notification, reporting and cessation (section 6(6)). Until ACMA issues the amended Determination, providers will face regulatory uncertainty about technical and timing thresholds.

The Direction does not itself directly impose duties on providers; rather it orders ACMA to amend the Determination to impose a set of specified duties. The following duties are required content for the amended Determination. Each duty is drawn verbatim from the Direction’s required content and is framed here as an obligation that the Determination must include.

Technical and network duties (section 6(1)(1)):

• Action on controlled facilities: providers must “wilt controlled facilities in the event they lose connectivity to a core network, to ensure emergency calls can be carried by other networks” (section 6(1)(1)(a)). The Direction uses the phrase “wilt controlled facilities”; ACMA may clarify the intended action when drafting the Determination (section 6(6)).

• Preserve emergency call camp on functionality during outages: providers must “take all reasonable steps to ensure that, during an outage, the provider’s network or controlled facilities do not impede emergency call camp on functionality” (section 6(1)(1)(b)).

• Testing: providers must test that emergency calls originating on their network can be delivered to the emergency call person for 000 and 112, “including when using the emergency call camp on functionality” (section 6(1)(1)(c)).

• Network configuration: providers must configure networks “to carry emergency calls originating on their network to the emergency call person for 000 and 112 regardless of the mobile phone used to initiate the call” (section 6(1)(1)(d)).

Information sharing and reporting duties (sections 6(1)(2)-(3)):

• Real time sharing: providers must share real time network information relating to outages with relevant emergency services organisations, the emergency call person for 000 and 112, and other appropriate entities (section 6(1)(2)).

• Post‑outage reporting: providers must report to ACMA and the Department, within a specified timeframe after a major outage that affected delivery of emergency calls, information on (a) the cause of the outage, (b) steps taken to resolve it, (c) the impact on emergency call delivery including an estimate of number of impacted end‑users, and (d) a clear and detailed remedial plan with timeline (section 6(1)(3)(a)-(d)).

Operational preparedness duties (sections 6(1)(4)-(5)):

• Disruption protocol: include a comprehensive disruption protocol section addressing actions during and after a major outage affecting emergency call delivery (section 6(1)(4)).

• Management plans for planned changes: providers must submit to ACMA and other appropriate entities, within a specified timeframe in advance of proposed operational or network changes that will impact emergency call delivery, a management plan detailing steps to minimise detrimental impacts on end‑users (section 6(1)(5)).

Customer‑facing duties (section 6(2)):

• Device capability identification: carriage service providers must identify whether an end‑user’s mobile phone can access the emergency call service using both the provider’s own network and the networks of other carriage service providers who provide carriage services to the public (section 6(2)(1)).

• Consequences of inability to access emergency service: where a mobile phone cannot access emergency calls via either the provider’s own network or other public networks, the carriage service provider must (i) notify the end‑user, (ii) not supply carriage services to the end‑user in connection with that mobile phone, (iii) provide information about alternative mobile phones including low cost or no cost options that can access emergency calls, and (iv) ensure the provider’s payment assistance policy includes avenues for financial hardship customers to receive assistance to obtain such alternative phones (section 6(2)(2)(i)-(iv)).

• Ongoing monitoring via best endeavours: carriage service providers must “use best endeavours” to promptly identify if an end‑user’s mobile phone in service loses the ability to access emergency calls on either the provider’s own network or other public networks (section 6(2)(3)).

• Notification and cessation on loss of capability: if a phone in service becomes unable to access emergency calls, the provider must (i) within a specified period notify the end‑user, (ii) at the end of a specified period cease supplying carriage services to the end‑user for that phone, (iii) provide information about alternative phones, and (iv) ensure the payment assistance policy provides avenues for assistance (section 6(2)(4)(i)-(iv)).

• Exception for some foreign travellers: the obligation to refuse supply does not apply where the phone is used by a foreign traveller intending to remain in Australia for less than a specified period and the traveller has been notified that the phone cannot access emergency calls (section 6(2)(5)(a)-(b)).

Rights and discretions:

• ACMA’s discretion to define terms and set operational detail: the Direction explicitly allows ACMA to define terms it considers appropriate in the amended Determination, including those used in the Direction but not defined in section 4 (section 6(6)). This provides ACMA with discretion to set the “specified periods”, detailed technical definitions (for example, what constitutes “emergency call camp on functionality”), and any other necessary clarifications.

• The Direction does not itself create enforcement or penalty clauses. The Determination once amended may include enforcement mechanisms, but the Direction does not specify penalties, compliance enforcement processes, civil liabilities, or administrative sanctions. The duties therefore are a required template for ACMA to implement under the Determination; the Direction’s text does not create immediate fines or enforcement steps against providers.

In short, the Direction directs ACMA to embed both network engineering and consumer protection responsibilities into the Determination, while leaving timing, precise technical definitions and enforcement detail to ACMA’s forthcoming instrument.

The Direction requires ACMA to amend the Telecommunications (Emergency Call Service) Determination 2019 to impose various duties on providers, but it does not itself specify penalties, compliance enforcement mechanisms, or remedies. The Direction’s text is limited to instructing ACMA on the content the amended Determination must contain and providing ACMA with authority to define terms and operational details (section 6(6)). The instrument is silent on the following points:

• Civil or criminal penalties: There is no provision in the Direction that prescribes fines, civil penalties, criminal offences, or other monetary sanctions for failure to comply with the duties that ACMA is instructed to include in the Determination.

• Administrative enforcement powers: The Direction does not set out whether the Determination should include ACMA’s usual compliance and enforcement mechanisms, such as inquiry powers, directions, variation or revocation powers, or the imposition of administrative penalties. The Direction confines itself to content and timing of amendments.

• Specific enforcement procedures: The Direction does not specify complaint processes, investigation timelines, or notice and review rights arising from breaches of the obligations it requires. Those processes, if any, will need to be provided in the amended Determination or by reference to existing ACMA powers under the ACMA Act and the Telecommunications Act 1997.

• Departmental enforcement role: While providers are to report post‑outage information to both ACMA and “the Department” (section 6(1)(3)), the Direction does not assign enforcement responsibilities to that Department or describe how the Department will use the reports.

Given the absence of penalty or enforcement detail in the Direction, two practical points follow directly from the text:

1. ACMA will determine whether the amended Determination includes its standard compliance and enforcement tools. The Direction empowers ACMA to define terms and to craft the Determination, so any penalties or enforcement mechanisms will be a matter of ACMA’s drafting within the scope of existing legal powers (section 6(6)). The Direction does not limit ACMA from including enforcement mechanisms, but it does not mandate any particular enforcement model.

2. Until the amended Determination is made, providers’ legal exposure under the Direction itself is limited to ACMA’s obligation to make the Determination. Providers therefore cannot be prosecuted or sanctioned under the Direction; any compliance obligations and penalties will depend on the content of the amended Determination once ACMA finalises it.

The Direction therefore creates substantive duties to be set out in the Determination but leaves enforcement architecture and penalties to ACMA’s subsequent instrument or to other existing statutory regimes referenced but not amended here.

The Direction is a ministerial direction to ACMA under subsection 14(1) of the Australian Communications and Media Authority Act 2005 (section 3). It operates by requiring amendments to the Telecommunications (Emergency Call Service) Determination 2019 (section 4), and it repeatedly cross‑references existing statutory and regulatory instruments. The Direction’s interactions with other laws and instruments are explicit in several respects:

• Cross‑references to the Telecommunications Act 1997: The Direction adopts the meanings of “carriage service” and “controlled facility” by reference to the Telecommunications Act 1997 (section 4). Because those terms are externally defined, the amended Determination will operate within the scope of the Telecommunications Act’s definitions of networks, facilities and carriage service providers.

• Reliance on the Determination’s existing definitions: The Direction takes several definitions from the existing Determination , “emergency call”, “emergency call person for 000 and 112”, and “emergency service organisation” (section 4). The Direction therefore operates as an instruction to modify obligations tied to those existing legal constructs rather than introducing new categories. In practice, the amended Determination will need to be consistent with any definitional architecture already present in the 2019 Determination.

• Linkage to the Telecommunications (Financial Hardship) Industry Standard 2024: The Direction imports the definitions of “financial hardship customer” and “payment assistance policy” from that Industry Standard (section 4). The customer assistance obligations in section 6(2) and 6(4) therefore interact directly with the content of that Industry Standard, which the Direction does not itself alter. Providers will need to align their payment assistance policies with both instruments.

• Interaction with ACMA’s statutory powers: The Direction is issued under ACMA Act s 14(1), which authorises the Minister to give directions of a particular class to ACMA. The Direction instructs ACMA to amend a Determination (section 5). ACMA’s capacity to adopt the specified duties will therefore sit alongside its other functions and powers under the ACMA Act and telecommunications law. The Direction itself does not modify the ACMA Act or the Telecommunications Act, it directs ACMA to use its Determination‑making power to impose the content described.

• Reporting to “the Department”: Section 6(1)(3) requires providers to report post‑outage information to ACMA and “the Department”. The Direction does not name the Department; in practice this will interact with the administrative arrangements that place telecommunications and emergency coordination responsibilities in a specific Commonwealth department. The Direction does not modify that Department’s powers, investigatory capacity or role.

• Potential privacy and information‑sharing law interfaces: The Direction requires providers to share “real time network information” with emergency services and other entities (section 6(1)(2)). The Direction does not specify safeguards, data retention, or confidentiality. As a result, providers will need to consider how any real time information sharing required by the amended Determination interacts with existing privacy and telecommunications secrecy laws. The Direction itself does not set or resolve those statutory interactions.

• Timing and commencement interactions: The Direction imposes sequential commencement deadlines (section 5) that may interact with the existing Determination’s transitional arrangements or obligations. The Direction does not itself amend other laws or create transitional carve‑outs; instead it requires ACMA to set the Determination amendments and timing consistent with the Direction’s deadlines.

In summary, the Direction builds on and requires alignment with existing instruments: the Telecommunications (Emergency Call Service) Determination 2019, the Telecommunications Act 1997, and the Telecommunications (Financial Hardship) Industry Standard 2024. It leaves the harmonisation of any conflicting obligations, data handling safeguards, and enforcement modalities to ACMA and to the legal frameworks already in place.

This Direction is a discrete instrument dated 21 August 2024 and does not itself record any prior amendments to the text it directs ACMA to change. The instrument provides its own metadata:

• Name and date: The instrument is the Australian Communications and Media Authority (Emergency Call Service Determination) Direction 2024 and is dated 21 August 2024 (heading and the signature block).

• Commencement: It commences the day after registration (section 2).

• Authority: It is made under subsection 14(1) of the Australian Communications and Media Authority Act 2005 (section 3).

• Definitions and references: Section 4 lists incorporated definitions and identifies which terms are taken from the Act, the Telecommunications Act 1997 and the Determination, and notes that “provider” means “a carrier or carriage service provider”.

The Direction mandates ACMA to amend the Telecommunications (Emergency Call Service) Determination 2019. The Direction does not itself amend that Determination; it sets the content ACMA must include when making the Determination amendments. Therefore the relevant amendment history to track going forward will include:

• The Direction’s timeframes for ACMA to publish or determine the amended Determination. Section 5 sets two deadlines: amendments corresponding to subsection 6(1) must be determined by ACMA by 30 April 2025 and commence in full no later than 1 November 2025 (section 5(2)). Amendments corresponding to subsection 6(2) must be determined and commence in full by 1 November 2024 (section 5(3)). Those deadlines create a two‑stage amendment timetable.

• The amended Determination(s) that ACMA must make. The Direction requires particular content be included in the Determination (section 6). The formal amendment history will therefore begin when ACMA tabled, published or registered the amended Determination(s) that give effect to the directions. Until ACMA publishes the amended Determination, the Direction itself is the only new instrument recorded here.

• No prior amendments or previous ministerial directions are recorded in this instrument. The Direction does not purport to revoke or vary any earlier Direction by the Minister, nor does it amend or repeal other instruments; it solely instructs ACMA to amend the 2019 Determination.

• ACMA’s power to define terms: The Direction explicitly permits ACMA to define terms in the amended Determination (section 6(6)). This means the amendment history will also include any definitional additions or clarifications ACMA makes when crafting the Determination changes.

To monitor amendment history in practice, one will need to track ACMA’s formal processes: the issuance of exposure drafts, consultation papers if any, the final Determination instrument(s) made under the Telecommunications (Emergency Call Service) Determination 2019, and any subsequent variations ACMA makes to implement the Minister’s direction and to refine definitions, timeframes and enforcement mechanisms. The Direction itself records the Ministerial instruction and the required content, but does not document ACMA’s implementation.

The Direction does not reference any litigation, court decisions, or administrative law proceedings. It names no cases, contains no recitals asserting advisory opinions or judicial findings, and does not record any legal challenges or precedent. The text is a single ministerial direction to ACMA setting out required content for amendments to the Telecommunications (Emergency Call Service) Determination 2019 (section 5).

Because this Direction is an instruction to ACMA and not an enforcement instrument against private parties, there is no immediate litigation history embedded in the instrument. Any litigation history that might arise from the Direction would flow from subsequent acts:

• Legal challenges to ACMA’s amended Determination, once made, could occur if affected parties dispute ACMA’s interpretation of the Direction, the scope of ACMA’s definitions under section 6(6), the reasonableness of timeframes, or any enforcement mechanisms ACMA includes. The Direction itself does not address judicial review or merits review; however, judicial review of ACMA’s adoption of the Determination as inconsistent with the Direction or beyond ACMA’s powers would be a potential future matter but is not present in the instrument.

• Litigation arising from providers’ compliance obligations (for example, disputes with customers over cessation of service, or claims arising from outage handling) might arise after the Determination is made and enforced. Such litigation is not referenced in the Direction.

Accordingly, as of the Direction’s text, there is no recorded litigation history to report. Any litigation history will depend on the content of the amended Determination ACMA makes under this Direction and on subsequent implementation and enforcement by ACMA and affected parties.

The Direction contains several drafting features and structural choices that create legal and operational points of attention for ACMA, providers and other stakeholders. These “gotchas” are grounded in the instrument’s wording and allocation of discretion.

1. Timing mismatch and compressed deadlines (section 5)

• The Direction splits amendments into two groups with different deadlines. Subsection 6(2) amendments must be determined and commence in full by 1 November 2024, a date shortly after the Direction date of 21 August 2024 (section 5(3)). That creates a compressed timetable for ACMA to consult, draft and finalise amendments affecting device capability checks and immediate cessation obligations for certain handsets (section 6(2)). Providers will have little lead time to adapt to the commencement requirements unless ACMA phases implementation or provides transitional arrangements in the amended Determination.

2. Undefined “specified period” and “specified timeframe” (sections 6(1)(3), 6(1)(5), 6(2)(4))

• The Direction frequently relies on unspecified temporal thresholds , for post‑outage reporting, pre‑change management plan submission, notification to end‑users, and the period after which cessation of service must occur. These are left to the Determination for specification (section 6). The lack of preset times generates regulatory uncertainty until ACMA defines them. Providers must plan for a range of possible durations and must watch for ACMA’s definitions.

3. Ambiguous wording: “wilt controlled facilities” and other phrasing (section 6(1)(1)(a))

• Section 6(1)(1)(a) instructs providers to “wilt controlled facilities in the event they lose connectivity to a core network, to ensure emergency calls can be carried by other networks”. The verb “wilt” is not a standard operational term and may be a drafting error. ACMA’s power to define terms (section 6(6)) will be critical to resolving this ambiguity. Until ACMA clarifies, providers face uncertainty about the expected technical or operational action.

4. “Emergency call camp on functionality” undefined (sections 6(1)(1)(b)-(c))

• The Direction requires providers not to impede and to test emergency calls “including when using the emergency call camp on functionality” (section 6(1)(1)(b)-(c)). That phrase is used repeatedly but is not defined in the Direction; ACMA must define it. Its technical meaning will determine testing protocols and outage behaviour.

5. Practical implications of the “no supply” rule (section 6(2)(2)(ii))

• The Direction requires carriage service providers not to supply carriage services to an end‑user “in connection with” a mobile phone that cannot access emergency calls via the provider’s network or other public networks (section 6(2)(2)(ii)). That duty may force providers to refuse service to specific handsets even if the customer otherwise wants service. The Direction carves out an exception for notified short‑stay foreign travellers (section 6(2)(5)), but otherwise the obligation could disrupt ordinary onboarding and sales processes and may have consumer impacts.

6. Interaction with financial hardship provisions (sections 4 and 6(2)(2)(iv), 6(2)(4)(iv))

• The Direction ties assistance obligations to the Telecommunications (Financial Hardship) Industry Standard 2024 by adopting its definitions (section 4). Providers must ensure payment assistance policies provide avenues for financial hardship customers to obtain low/no cost alternative phones. Providers that rely upon existing hardship frameworks may need to revise internal policies and systems to evidence compliance when the Determination is made.

7. Real time information sharing without specified safeguards (section 6(1)(2))

• The Direction compels sharing of real time network information with emergency services and other entities (section 6(1)(2)). It is silent on privacy, security, retention, and confidentiality controls. Providers will need to assess how such sharing interacts with privacy obligations, telecommunications secrecy, commercial confidentiality and technical feasibility. ACMA may address safeguards in the amended Determination but the Direction does not mandate them.

8. No enforcement detail in the Direction (section 6)

• The Direction does not set penalties or enforcement mechanisms. Whether ACMA includes sanctions or relies on industry standards will shape providers’ compliance calculus. Until ACMA finalises the Determination, the consequences of non‑compliance are unclear.

9. Reporting to “the Department” (section 6(1)(3))

• The Direction requires post‑outage reporting to ACMA and “the Department” but does not specify which Department, what it will do with information, or confidentiality arrangements. This creates ambiguity in operational reporting channels.

10. ACMA’s definitional discretion (section 6(6))

• While ACMA’s ability to define necessary terms is essential for operationalising the Direction, it also concentrates significant discretion. Providers must monitor ACMA’s drafting choices as those will determine the material scope of obligations.

Each of these points flows directly from the Direction’s text and creates practical or legal uncertainty that ACMA and providers will need to address through the drafting of the amended Determination and accompanying guidance or consultation.

Compliance obligations flow from ACMA’s forthcoming amendments to the Telecommunications (Emergency Call Service) Determination 2019. Until ACMA issues the amended Determination, the Direction itself is an instruction rather than a compliance instrument against providers. The following steps map the Direction’s required content into practical actions providers and ACMA should take. Each recommended action is rooted in the Direction’s text and reflects the duties ACMA must include in the Determination (section citations provided).

For ACMA (section 5 and section 6):

• Prioritise workstreams to meet the two deadlines. Subsection 6(2) obligations must be determined and commence by 1 November 2024 while subsection 6(1) obligations must be determined by 30 April 2025 and commence no later than 1 November 2025 (section 5(2)-(3)). ACMA should publish an implementation timetable and any transitional arrangements to facilitate providers’ compliance planning.

• Define key terms and temporal thresholds. The Direction allows ACMA to define necessary terms (section 6(6)). ACMA should specify definitions for ambiguous phrases used in the Direction, including “wilt controlled facilities”, “emergency call camp on functionality”, “specified period”, and “specified timeframe”.

• Consult on technical feasibility and reporting modalities. Because the Direction requires real time sharing and post‑outage reports (sections 6(1)(2)-(3)), ACMA should consult on data formats, secure channels, confidentiality, retention, and the appropriate recipients (including identification of “the Department”).

• Consider enforcement architecture. The Direction is silent on penalties. ACMA should decide whether to rely on existing compliance powers under the ACMA Act and the Determination framework, or to include specific enforcement and remedial provisions. If ACMA intends to include sanctions, it should consult on proportionality and due process.

For providers (carriers and carriage service providers; sections 6(1)-(2)):

• Map network dependencies and controlled facilities. Providers should inventory controlled facilities and core network dependencies and develop plans for how those facilities will behave if they lose connectivity to a core network, consistent with the Direction’s instruction to “wilt controlled facilities” to ensure emergency calls can be carried by other networks (section 6(1)(1)(a)). Where language is ambiguous, maintain records of technical design choices made in good faith pending ACMA’s definitions.

• Implement testing regimes. Providers must be prepared to test that emergency calls originating on their network can be delivered to the emergency call person for 000 and 112, including when using emergency call camp on functionality (section 6(1)(1)(c)). Establish testing schedules, failover test scripts, test logs and evidence trails.

• Configure networks for handset‑agnostic emergency call delivery. The Determination must require configuration to carry emergency calls regardless of the mobile phone used to initiate the call (section 6(1)(1)(d)). Providers should identify configurations, interconnect arrangements and roaming or inter‑network fallback mechanisms to satisfy this obligation.

• Prepare disruption protocols and management plans. Draft a comprehensive disruption protocol covering actions during and after a major outage that affects emergency call delivery (section 6(1)(4)). Create templates for management plans to be submitted in advance of network or operational changes that will impact emergency call delivery, specifying the steps to minimise detrimental impacts and the timeframe for submission (section 6(1)(5)).

• Establish real time information sharing capabilities. Build secure, reliable channels for sharing real time network information with emergency services and the emergency call person (section 6(1)(2)). Define which organisational units handle information sharing and retention, and document technical specifications and security controls.

• Create post‑outage reporting processes. Implement procedures to capture the cause of a major outage, steps taken to resolve it, impact estimates including numbers of affected end‑users, and a remedial plan with timeline, so providers can meet the specified timeframe for reporting to ACMA and the Department (section 6(1)(3)).

• Update customer onboarding and device capability processes. Develop capability detection tools to identify whether an end‑user’s mobile phone can access emergency call services on the provider’s network and on other public networks (section 6(2)(1)). Integrate capability checks into sales and provisioning workflows and train frontline staff.

• Establish notification and cessation workflows. Draft notice templates and operational flows for notifying end‑users whose phones cannot access emergency calls and for ceasing supply to those phones at the end of a specified period (section 6(2)(2)(i)-(ii) and 6(2)(4)(i)-(ii)). Include an exception handling flow for short‑stay foreign travellers who have been notified (section 6(2)(5)).

• Align payment assistance policies with Financial Hardship Industry Standard. Update or confirm payment assistance policies so they include avenues for financial hardship customers to obtain low cost or no cost phones that can access emergency calls, per the Industry Standard referenced (section 4 and sections 6(2)(2)(iv), 6(2)(4)(iv)). Record policy changes and staff training.

• Monitor phones in service using “best endeavours”. Implement monitoring systems and event detection to identify if an end‑user’s phone in service loses emergency call capability on either the provider’s network or other public networks. Document the “best endeavours” approach and escalation criteria (section 6(2)(3)).

• Be ready to produce evidence. Maintain records of testing, configuration, notices, hardship assistance, disruption protocols, management plans and post‑outage reports so that, once the amended Determination is in force, providers can demonstrate good faith compliance with its obligations. The Direction mandates content but leaves enforcement architecture to ACMA; being able to evidence compliance will be essential.

For emergency services and the Department (section 6(1)(2) and 6(1)(3)):

• Prepare to receive and consume real time network information and post‑outage reports. Establish technical and organisational channels to receive data from providers, and clarify expected uses, confidentiality and dissemination policies.

Risk mitigation and practical notes:

• Where the Direction uses undefined terms or leaves timeframes unspecified, providers should engage with ACMA early in the consultation process to shape definitions and reasonable timeframes. Retain contemporaneous records of communications and design choices.

• For onboarding and refusal of supply decisions, ensure consumer communications are clear and that staff apply consistent criteria, particularly in cases of hardship and for the foreign traveller exception.

• Consider the privacy and security implications of increased real time data sharing and post‑outage reporting; seek legal and compliance input to align with privacy and telecommunications secrecy obligations that will interact with the Determination.

These steps map directly to duties the Direction requires ACMA to include in the amended Determination (sections 6(1)-(6)(2)). Until ACMA finalises the Determination, the actions listed above will help providers and recipients prepare for the technical, reporting and consumer obligations the Direction mandates.